A yacht docked near Dubai Yacht Club that caught fire and was almost destroyed in January was removed from the marina's waters on Saturday.
Fumes and toxic smoke were sent billowing into the air when the luxury yacht caught fire on Friday, January 24.
Since then, the motor boat has laid to rest just under the water’s surface at the southern end of the marina near Sayorah Street bridge.
Paul Young, who lives in nearby Amwaj 3 in Jumeirah Beach Residences, watched the boat’s recovery from his balcony at the weekend with his son Oliver, 9.
“I told my son to keep an eye on what was happening as we saw four big trucks turn up on Saturday morning so things finally looked to be happening,” said Mr Young, a Briton who is head of energy at Dubai Mercantile Exchange.
“When a crane arrived we knew they were going to try to lift the boat out and remove it.
“A lot of fuel had leaked out, and there were still traces in the water even until this week.”
Firefighters positioned on land and on a boat worked for hours to extinguish the flames in January.
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Firefighters battled the blaze from the promenade. Emma Deakin/Facebook -
Civil Defense extinguish the remains of a yacht that burnt out in the Dubai Marina. Antonie Robertson / The National -
Civil Defense extinguish the remains of a yacht that burnt out in the Dubai Marina. Antonie Robertson / The National -
A yacht of fire in Dubai Marina. Rory Reynolds / The National -
At one stage, the boat was engulfed in flames with black smoke billowing into the air. Firefighters quickly arrived to tackle the blaze. Rory Reynolds / The National -
Fire crews were quickly on the scene. Rory Reynolds / The National. -
At one stage the boat was almost completely engulfed in flames. Submitted. -
Smoke can be seen billowing over the marina in this image taken from The Greens. Courtesy Anton Balchin
Dubai Marina developer, Emaar, said there had been no injuries in the incident.
Witnesses said the vessel had been ring fenced with buoys by the harbour master while the salvage operation was completed.
Oliver, who is a pupil at the Horizon English School, filmed a time-lapse video on his phone to record the dramatic events that kept his neighbours captivated for several hours.
The boat was finally removed on a low-loader vehicle in the early hours of Sunday.
“It gave us something to do as we are all isolating at home,” said his dad, Mr Young.
“We watched most of it, as it took all day. The lifting was gradual as the water drained out slowly as it was removed.
“It has been a bit of an eyesore so it’s good it has finally been removed.”
